California has 1164 Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes according to CMS Care Compare — the 2nd most of any state. Of those, 288 facilities (24.7%) hold a 5-star overall CMS rating, which is above the national average of 20.7%. The map below shows every California skilled nursing facility, color-coded by star rating, with filters for minimum stars and ownership type.
California Nursing Homes by the Numbers
- 1164 Medicare- and Medicaid-certified skilled nursing facilities
- 114,883 certified beds statewide
- 288 facilities (24.7%) hold a 5-star CMS overall rating — above the national average of 20.7%
- 222 facilities rated 4 stars (above average)
- 243 facilities rated 3 stars (average)
- 400 facilities (34.4%) rated 1 or 2 stars — below average on inspections, staffing, or quality measures
- 86.9% for-profit (1012 facilities); 10.3% non-profit (120); 2.7% government-operated (32)
How CMS Star Ratings Work in California
CMS evaluates every Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing home in California across three domains: health inspections (unannounced state surveys every 9–15 months), staffing levels (RN hours per resident day and total nurse staffing relative to case-mix benchmarks), and quality measures (17 clinical outcomes including pressure ulcer rates, fall rates, and antipsychotic medication use). A 5-star overall rating means the facility ranks well above average in all three domains; 1 star means well below average. CMS recalibrates thresholds annually.
Ownership in California
86.9% of California nursing homes are for-profit, 10.3% are non-profit, and 2.7% are government-operated. Nationally, 73.8% of skilled nursing facilities are for-profit. Research consistently finds that non-profit and government facilities have higher average staffing ratios, though individual performance varies widely within each ownership type.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many nursing homes are in
California has 1164 Medicare- and Medicaid-certified skilled nursing facilities, ranking 2nd nationally by facility count. These facilities collectively hold 114,883 certified beds.
What percentage of California nursing homes are rated 5 stars?
24.7% of California nursing homes — 288 facilities — hold a 5-star CMS overall rating, which is above the national average of 20.7% of 20.7%. Use the “4+ stars” or “5 stars only” filter on the map to find top-rated facilities.
How do I find the best nursing home in
Use the map above with the “4+ stars” filter to identify above-average California facilities. Then visit CMS Care Compare for any facility you are considering to review its most recent health inspection report, RN staffing hours, quality measure scores, and whether it appears on the Special Focus Facility list.
→ View all 14,700 US nursing homes on the national interactive map
